


where the lost are found

by nickofhearts



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tea shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2019-01-31 22:18:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12691290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickofhearts/pseuds/nickofhearts
Summary: Ardyn runs a tea shop. Noctis is required to learn the formalities of an official tea ceremony.





	where the lost are found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dreamingcicadas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingcicadas/gifts).
  * Inspired by [who said something is better than nothing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12408858) by [dreamingcicadas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamingcicadas/pseuds/dreamingcicadas). 



> It's cold as fuck today, so have some random fluffy tea shop AU shenanigans?

Was this—really necessary? Noctis understood that there were certain things that were expected of him as a prince, but they weren't in the feudal ages now, did he _really_ have to learn to sit in seiza for a few hours while they went through the whole process of a traditional tea ceremony? It was taking the man ten minutes just to pour single cup, and then they were expected to sip at it and savour the taste, letting it open up the pathways of their chakra or some mystical shit like that.

"There are times when ceremony is required, my son," had been Regis' only answer to Noct's complaints.

Ignis seemed to be enjoying himself at least, listening intently as the tea expert Clarus had directed them to explained what went into the making of a cup of tea, how best to steep the leaves to open up their full flavour—he was dressed in a fucking _kimono_ in weather so hot that Noct was sweating through his t-shirt.

Noct's feet were falling asleep. He envied them _greatly._

"Your _highness,_ " the man addressed him for once instead of Ignis, who was basically taking notes on every word that left his mouth. "Your posture leaves much to be desired, and is most probably the cause of your current discomfort."

Noct stood with a growl. He was _done_ with this bullshit.

He stomped off to the far side of the little garden that'd been hidden behind the tea shop they'd entered that morning. It was meticulously kept, with perfectly smooth rocks set in finely raked sand that twisted around and between them in a path that was like a river. Noct really wanted to kick the sand up and destroy the the whole picturesque peacefulness of the scene, but even he realized that would be going too far.

It was just—so _boring._ If he was ever invited to a formal tea party by a foreign dignitary, he'd just send Ignis as an emissary, Noct decided.

-

It was basically dark by the time they were done. Noct had been sitting beside a small pond where a multitude of koi fish were weaving around each other, their scales flashing prettily white and red in the depths of the pool. He'd dozed off in an awkward position, and almost fell in when he was awoken by a light tap on the shoulder, startling a little that the grip that steadied him was far firmer than he'd expected.

"I apologize if the tea was not to your taste, your highness."

"Oh, uh—" Noct shrugged. "Tea's not bad, it's just—"

"The ceremony of it all?" Ardyn—that was the man's name, Noct remembered—raised an eyebrow at him and handed him a new cup, surprisingly still hot. Had Ardyn brewed a new pot just for him?

Noct sipped at it delicately so as not to be impolite when Ardyn had made a special effort on his behalf. "Sorry."

"It appears your interests lie elsewhere," Ardyn remarked, seemingly without judgement. "It appears also that your steward has left you to make your own way home."

Noct looked around at the now-empty garden. Ignis had indeed left without him, probably annoyed that Noct hadn't paid an ancient ritual of their people the proper amount of respect and attention that it was due, blah blah blah. He huffed out a breath. The tea Ardyn had handed him was different from what he'd been serving them in the afternoon, with a buttery smoothness that was almost chocolatey. He blinked at it in surprise. "This is—really good?"

Ardyn's mouth curved in a smile. "I thought it might be more to your highness' tastes."

He nodded at Noct to head back inside the shop, where Ardyn showed him to a room that was done up very differently than the rest of the establishment. There were big cozy cushions to sink into instead of the tiny pillows that were meant for sitting seiza on, and the walls boasted colourful posters of current movies and bands that even Noct recognized in place of the brush-painted art featured in the main room they'd passed through earlier.

"Perhaps this is more to your liking as well?" Ardyn inquired with another raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, wow," Noct agreed. He took larger sip of the tea that was now cooled, and Ardyn took it for a refill as Noct eyed the rest of the room. "Doesn't this go against the whole—" he waved his hands—"ceremony of it, and all?"

Ardyn chuckled and handed him the new cup. "Not at all, Noct, if I may address you so?" Noct nodded and Ardyn continued. "The ceremony is merely one way to enjoy the tea. The complexity of it takes one's mind off other thoughts and worries that might attempt to crowd in. It allows a certain peace for those who choose to immerse themselves in the ritual of it." Ardyn motioned at the room they were in now. "Others, as yourself perhaps, find more comfort in a less stringent atmosphere, one that focuses on the tea in a different way."

Noct nodded. "That makes—sense."

He was enjoying himself a lot more now than he'd been in the morning, and the warm sweetness of the tea was finally relaxing him in all the ways Ardyn had been going on about that morning but Noct hadn't felt one bit of.

"Good," Ardyn agreed.

He took Noct's empty cup and filled it again, setting it back in his hand—had Noct only imagined it, or did Ardyn's fingertips linger at his wrist when he'd passed the cup back? Noct snapped his attention back as Ardyn stood. "I must close up shop," he was saying, "but you're free to help yourself to the rest of the pot, if you like, Noct."

Noct felt warm in a different way at Ardyn addressing him so familiarly. "Sure, uh, thanks?"

He'd finished off the pot before he'd even noticed, settled so comfortably into the seat and surrounded by an inviting ambiance. By the time Ardyn returned, Noct had almost dozed off again, though this time it wasn't because he'd been bored out of his mind. He felt warm and open, like—the pathways of his chakra had been unblocked, Noct was sort of getting what Ardyn had been lecturing them about that morning. He felt at one with the world and at peace.

Ardyn was massaging him lightly on the shoulders in gentle motions, and it just felt nice, completely relaxing.

Noct laughed as he yawned and stretched out again, standing up in preparation to make the trek home. He _had_ learned a lot about tea from Ardyn, though probably not what Ignis or his father had wanted him to learn from the experience. "So am I getting special treatment because I'm the prince, or are you this full-service with all your customers?" he asked Ardyn with a smirk.

"Oh _Noct,_ " Ardyn replied with a smirk of his own. "You are _quite_ special, I assure you."

The kiss when it came wasn't so much a surprise, and it was just as meticulous and thorough as everything else Ardyn did, drawn out so Noct was breathless when Ardyn pulled away again, leaving him wanting for more. He moved forward, tipping his face up, and Ardyn's hands framed his hips to steady him as Noct leaned into him to continue the discourse. He'd never been kissed with such careful care as Ardyn did, that just a kiss felt like it'd touched him to the soul. Noct never wanted it to stop.

"Perhaps—" Ardyn whispered, letting his lips brush against Noct's on every word. "You'd consider visiting my small shop again, in the near future?"

Noct nodded, ducking in for one more kiss before he finally stepped away. It felt right to leave it there for the evening, to savour the memory of Ardyn's mouth against his like he'd learned to savour the tea, letting the flavours reveal themselves to him sip by sip.

" _Obviously,_ " Noct answered with a grin. "I mean, I've got a lot to learn about tea, right?"

Ardyn smiled in return, the expression lighting up his whole face in a most handsome way. He swept his arm out in the jest of a bow. "Why certainly, _your highness._ "


End file.
